


don't want to leave this play date with you

by oh_mothertrucker



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Best Friends, Friends to Lovers, Liam-centric, M/M, Niall-centric, liam kind of dislikes niall at first, side harry/louis but just a bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 22:36:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5473067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oh_mothertrucker/pseuds/oh_mothertrucker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How long can you keep saying no homo until it becomes weird?</p>
            </blockquote>





	don't want to leave this play date with you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aeromance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeromance/gifts).



> I'm not sure how this turned out and I wrestled with this prompt a lot but here it is and I hope you like it. 
> 
> I want something with Liam and NIall being the best bro-y bros ever (canon compliant or AU, w/e) and just loving on each other in hugs and hand holding and sometimes snuggling and sleeping together. It gets a bit weird when they start feeling possessive and demanding of each other's time beyond what a friendship should be.  
> Everyone assumes they're having sex and they spend a lot of time trying to convince them that they're not. Finally, they have a conversation about what they are and if they should be having sex and awkward boy dialogue about how they want to be together but not necessarily do things but they still definitely want the relationship and comfort part of it.

Liam wouldn't say he was somewhat special, if he was to label himself at all the word would most likely be something like 'average' or 'normal'. But that's what he was.

An average college student with a shit ton of student loans and nothing else to eat except for ramen noodles. That's who he was. At least for now.

It was the boys' game night, something that took place every Friday and was probably the highlight of Liam's week. He was easy to please, really. Ordering pizza and playing video games with his mates was what fun meant to him. It reminded him the nights they had when they were in high school.

Call him crazy but he missed high school. 

Mostly, he missed Zayn.

His oh so loyal best friend and bro he spent most of his years together. The best friend who left him to go to the U.S.

He had promised to be back for the start of the first semester, but the second year of college had already reached the middle and still, no Zayn. 

That made him sad, and no amount of denial could cover that up. He knew he wasn't allowed to show his misery, being a college guy and all that. But sometimes, he really wanted to.

Liam still had his other friends from high school, but no one could replace Zayn as his best friend. Or so he thought.

-

"'Ey, what's up, am I late?" a cheerful irish voice boomed from the entrance of Harry's flat. 

Liam turned his head to see the owner of the voice, who turned out to be a short blonde guy, a six pack of beers in his hand.

Harry, who's flat they were currently in, cheered as he saw the blond. "No, not at all! We were just starting." 

All that Liam thought was, who is that guy? And why is he here? It's their Friday night, so why would Harry invite an outsider?

They had agreed to never invite strangers to their group! 

Call him childish, but a promise is a promise, god damn it.

"Everyone, this is Niall, and he's here for the sixth spot," 

What?! 

Liam was beyond pissed at the moment.

What does he mean he's here for the sixth spot? The sixth spot is Zayn's! Who does he think he is, coming here where he's not even wanted, trying to replace HIS best friend? 

The 'not even wanted' may have been a little too far, since no one else seemed affected by the irish guy's presence, but still. 

The chorus of the boys greetings reached his ears and Liam was just getting madder by each second.

Niall plopped down next to Liam and smiled friendly to the guy, but the only thing on Liam's mind was this imposter trying to squeeze his way in to their group. He felt like screaming 'you can't sit with us!' right now. 

"Thanks for letting me join the league this year, by the way," Niall said, still happy as a baby who had been offered a popsicle as he placed the six pack gently on the table in front of them.

Liam felt betrayed. Why did no one mention that they wanted to refill Zayn's spot? They most likely knew what his reaction would be, but that didn't cross Liam's mind right now.

"Oh, trust me, it wasn't my decision," he heard himself say.

And even if Harry gave him a look for being so sour, Liam didn't notice it and grabbed a controller, completely oblivious to Harry's annoyed glare on his back.

-

"So, Niall, how did Harry and you meet?" Liam asked when the game was full on and the boy's exaggerated cheers filled the apartment.

"Oh, we met at a party last week, we hit it off, and yeah," Niall answered, somewhat awkwardly.

Liam's sour look didn't change as Niall babbled on about his and Harry's adventures. He was not pleased at all by his being here and he made it his mission to show the blond how unwanted he was here.

"Didn't he mention that we all met in high school when he offered you a part in our league?" he asked, keeping his face on the screen.

"He did, actually. Y'all seem like cool dudes, by the way," complimented Niall, oblivious to Liam's attempts to jar his confidence.

"Liam, can we talk for a minute?" 

It was Harry, who clearly wasn't pleased with Liam's doing right now. It was too far, he thought and Liam needed to stop being so rude or he can go.

Liam nodded, still mad at the guys, especially Harry for bringing this.. outsider to their game night. Hopefully he'll apologize and send Niall away.

"Sorry guys, by the way," he apologized briefly before they went to the kitchen. The guys didn't mind, their attention was on the game right now.

"Lay off Liam, Niall's a good lad, you don't need to live out your yearning on him." scolds Harry, trying to act as understanding as he can with his pal. He didn't want to hurt his feelings, but Niall really didn't deserve that. 

He got that Zayn was his best friend and all, but that wasn't a good enough reason to be so impolite towards the blond.

"What are you talking about? Why are you standing up for him? He's an outsider, he doesn't belong here!" he fires back. He hasn't done anything wrong, has he? Niall is the one trying to invade their friendship, not him. 

At least that was what was going on in Liam's mind. It was just a reflex of his, he was a drama queen and everyone knew that. He got easily jealous, mix that with all of his insecurities and you've got the recipe for Liam. 

"Give him a chance, would ya? Maybe he'll end up being your best friend," Harry says, looking straight at Liam. Seriously, he's like their mom sometimes. He felt like chuckling at that thought but now certainly wasn't the time.

Anyway, at his point of view, Niall really was a great guy, hopefully Liam would see that too.

"Zayn was my best friend!" Liam declares, his tone defensive, the emphasis on 'Zayn' and 'best'. How could Harry even say such a thing! Did Zayn really mean nothing to him as a friend at all? Was he the only one who still believed he was coming back? Did they all just forget about their friend?

"Well Zayn left you for U.S," Harry flares back, leaving the kitchen to join the other guys. It was harsh, but Liam needed to realize that. Zayn left them for some girl and basically forgot about them, so Harry didn't have any sympathy for him right now. Niall was chill, so he didn't see a reason why should they go on about Zayn when they could just move on with their lives. Clearly, everyone but Liam had thought the same.

Liam didn't feel like playing anymore after that. 

-

Liam didn't usually mind parties, but lately, he wasn't feeling like partying at all. Well, after half an hour worth of convincing by Louis, his very powerful roommate, he was finally on the spot and ready to drink away all of his problems.

The rave originally took place in a frat house, but after fifteen minutes of very, very manly drinking and longing glances at the door, the party smoothly expanded to the next-door sorority that was there like it was ordered.

The yard was trashed, people grinding against eachother in the dark, the fog of illegal chemicals flowing above them. Alcohol was passed around and the loud EDM music was blaring from the speakers. 

These were the college parties you see in the movies, and usually, Liam would be full on enjoying the scene.

It would be a clear statement to say that he wasn't having fun.

Louis had ditched him the minute they walked in and disappeared with a guy who was probably older than Liam's and Louis' years counted together. Alone, Liam was lost. The other guys had also vanished somewhere in the cloud of weed and other substances similar to it. He really didn't want to seem like a buzzkill, but something was missing. 

Someone, maybe, but Liam didn't allow himself have thoughts like that. 

He was perfectly aware of his best friend's absence and that might've even been the reason he couldn't get in a party mood anymore, but after the harsh reality check Harry gave him, he tried to not think about Zayn that much anymore.

He was gone, right? Nothing to worry about, you just got to move on. And he really should stop talking to himself before he's sent to a mental facility.

After an unsuccessful quest to find his friends, Liam ended up in the kitchen. There was quite a crowd around the beer pong table set up in the middle of the massive kitchen. 

Beer pong brought back so many memories and Liam was blinded by nostalgia for a slight second.

"Yo Liam, you up for beer pong?" an unrecognizable pal of Liam's said when he entered the kitchen in search for his mates. Liam and Zayn were known as the beer pong masters and if they were game, no one had a chance against them.

"Nah, sorry, my usual partner's not here," Liam said as the dude looked at him with disappointment clear on his face. Everyone had kind of forgot about Zayn by that point, well everyone except Liam who was basically glued to his memory. He had a bad habit of not letting stuff go, okay?

"I'll be your partner," a voice said, appearing out of nowhere.

Liam all but scoffed. He hoped the irish idiot wasn't going to be at the party at least, but of course, he had to be here. His luck was just brilliant today. Why did the tosser always have to show up when there was a need to replace his best buddy?

"Fine, but don't get in the way, okay? I don't need you messing up my perfect record," 

Niall raised an eyebrow. Looks like he finally caught up on Liam's not so friendly behaviour. About time, really.

"Cheer up, mate."

"I'm not your mate."

-

So the beer pong did not go as expected. Niall wasn't terrible and Liam did try to tell himself he wasn't impressed, but that would be a blatant lie.

"Woo!" Niall cheered as he chest-bumped Liam after a perfect shot. He then grabbed the red solo cup and gulped it down on one go.

The crowd around them cheered as Liam laughed at the blond's excitement. He was pleasantly buzzed and the thought of hanging out with the irish guy didn't seem so bad after all.

Now it was Liam's turn to try and get the ball in to the cup. There was only one left and focused on it, putting his dizziness aside.

He threw the ball and as expected, the ball landed straight in the cup. 

More people had joined the crowd to see the final shot and they all whooped, but no one could top Niall's exhilarated roaring that followed, which most likely was because of all the beer he had poured down his throat.

Liam would've expected more alcohol tolerance from an irish person, but whatever, they had done amazing, dude!

Liam went in for a fist bump and that was the start of their beautiful, blooming bromance. 

The guy was mesmerized by Niall, all the sour feelings he had for him before had magically vanished as they kept on talking after the game of beer pong. 

He learned that he likes to play the guitar sometimes and his favourite colour is green and most importantly, he also learned that he is absolutely fascinated with him.

He was confused. As confused as a homeless man on house arrest.

He had never had these strange feelings towards a guy.. no, towards anyone, really. Now that he thinks about it, he had never even been interested in anyone.

Is there something wrong with him? And how did meeting this random friend of Harry's make him realize that? 

"I'm getting tired of this scene, wanna ditch with me?" Niall suddenly spoke, interrupting his thoughts. 

He held out a hand for the taller guy as he stood up from the couch they'd been sitting and talking on for the past two hours. The view was quite strange since there were drunk people all around them, dancing and doing various inappropriate activities on every piece of furniture there was.

Liam was like under a spell as he instantly nodded and took the blond's hand. He had completely forgot about Zayn for a whole two hours and it scared him just a little bit.

Niall smirked and guided Liam through the crowd, towards the exit.

The party had been going on for about four hours and everyone just seemed to get drunker as time passed. The dance floor didn't look sexy nor appealing any more, it was just drunk bodies trying to stay on their legs and not fall face-first on the floor.

The cool breeze outside was refreshing after staying in the alcohol fumes for four long hours. It was November, which should mean it was cold outside but surprisingly, the streets of London weren't even chilly.

After exiting the venue, Niall still didn't let go of Liam's hand and Liam didn't have the breath to question him as Niall kept running, dragging him along with him.

He stopped so suddenly, that Liam didn't have a chance to react so he just crashed onto his back, crashing them both down on the sidewalk. They earned a couple of strange looks, but they were too busy laughing to care.

"Liam, babe, this relationship is moving too fast," Niall joked in-between laughs, still under Liam.

The brunette reddened just a little bit and rolled them around, so Niall was now on top of him. 

"But I love you, oh dear Neil!" he bit back in a sappy tone when he had finally regained his wits and stopped blushing like a chinese schoolgirl with a crush.

Oh, please notice me senpai!

Liam chuckled at his thoughts which also made Niall laugh, for unknown reasons.

So there they were, two slightly drunk college guys, just casually rolling around on the sidewalk laughing their asses off.

Liam had never felt so free before.

When they finally stood up and brushed the remainings of the sidewalk off their clothes, Liam took a look at their destination.

It was an adorable little Chinese restaurant that was seemingly open for 24 hours. It was small, but it didn't look creepy and alleway-like, like tiny food places in downtown usually did. It looked cozy, at least from the outside.

"Let's get takeaway and crash at my place, maybe? We could watch Netflix or something," Niall suggested, and Liam could tell he was trying to seem confident but even in his drunken mindstate, he could detect a little hint of nervousness in his voice.

Liam smiled. "That sounds like a great idea." 

Niall's grin mirrored his as he pulled him into the small building.

-

Niall's and Liam's 'friendship' had gone on for months now, since The Party and the boys swore that there was something going on with the two guys.

But, seriously, how long can you keep saying no homo without it becoming weird? You surely have to draw a line at some point, right? Well, they most definitely had reached that point a while ago.

Despite their effort at convincing their friends that they're indeed, not a couple, the three believed thoroughly that the two had a behind-closed-doors relationship and had really quiet sex so no one could hear them and find out about it.

To be honest, they kind of did, except the sex part. They cuddled more than Louis and Harry, who were basically tied together by their tongues. Larry, as they themselves called it. 

But the strangest part was, he wasn't uncomfortable at all like he should be, shouldn't he?

Niall felt like home, and Liam couldn't bring himself to be bothered by that.

He didn't know what they were, honestly. It was clear to see that they were obviously more than just friends, but he didn't feel like he was gay, if you could say it like that.

Is gay even a feeling? Liam had no idea, and also no one to talk about it. Niall was out of the question, he'd probably find him creepy and weird and never talk to him again.

At some point Liam had talked to his dad, but he fled the room as soon as Liam said he wanted to talk about his feelings. Yeah, that's that.

They were currently at a restaurant, all six of them - he himself, Niall, Harry, Louis, Josh and Ed. 

"Liam, my man! I haven't seen you in age- wait, who's this hottie over here?" a familiar voice boomed and landed next to Niall, his last words obviously pointed at the blond.

When three months ago Liam would've gone insane with happiness, having his best friend back and all, then now all that surged through him was insane jealousy.

Who the hell did Zayn think he was, treating Niall like a piece of meat?

"Zayn, dude, where you've been?" Louis greeted, reaching over the table to give Zayn one of these bro hugs. 

"You know, Vegas, mostly, the boys there, oh my god," the Pakistani boy started, telling every detail of his conquests to the guys, while 'subtly' snaking his arm around Niall who was still dazed by the raven-haired guy's entrance.

"So what's your name, sexy? I'm Zayn, better remember it, 'cuz you'll be screaming it later." Zayn said when he finally turned to the blonde boy under his arm, completely ignoring how uncomfortable everyone were.

Liam was pretty sure there was smoke coming out of his ears at that very moment. Seriously, who the fuck does he think he is? He comes here, says one sentence to Liam, his best friend, and then starts talking up his man, treating him like a piece of meat?

That won't do.

"Liam, bro, what has crawled up your ass and died?" Zayn asked, pulling Niall ever closer.

"Zayn, I need to talk to you." he said, as calmly as possible.

"Uh, I think we should leave, guys? Let them, yknow, speak in private?" Harry said, trying to avoid the drama caused by the Pakistani boy.

The other boys nodded while Louis disagreed

"No, Haz, I wanna see this," he said leaning recognition, not planning on leaving any time soon.

Harry just grabbed him from his sleeve, dragging him out of the restaurant like a child who has been naughty, leaving the three alone in the booth.

"What?" Zayn said, clearly confused now.

"You're being so rude right now. You only said three words to me when you came back, and-"

I don't like the way you're talking to Niall. You're being disrespectful towards him and you have to stop. 

"I thought we were best friends. How come you wanna talk to him instead of me?" he finished and wanted to hit himself almost instantly after that. 

Niall's face embraced in pure shock, then sadness, then anger. 

"I thought you cared, Liam!" he said, storming out of the restaurant before tears fell.

He was a boy and boys don't cry. And they certainly don't cry over other boys either.

Everything was taking an extremely dramatic turn and Liam and Zayn were both confused as hell. Liam not so much, all he had to do was to ask himself, Niall, or Zayn? The answer was clear as he bolted out of the building, brown eyes searching the familiar mop of blond from the sea of people.

Zayn was left, sitting in the booth by himself, having absolutely no idea what just happened and left to pay for all the meals alone. But he deserved it, he was acting like a jerk after all.

Liam had caught up to the blond and tried his hardest to run after him. His life was starting to feel like a romantic comedy and he didn't know how he felt about that.

"Niall, wait!" Liam grabbed his arm, making the boy stop and turn, his puffy eyes now on full display to the taller guy.

"What, Liam? What do you have to say?" he demanded, hating how weak he sounded.

"Listen to me, Ni. I, uh, I have no idea why didn't I stand up for you, I mean, we are best friends after all and friends protect eachother, right?" he rambled nervously, sounding disappointed by the word 'friends' but trying his hardest not to show.

"I guess what I'm really sorry, it won't happen again, I swear. From now on I'll be the best friend you'll ever have, okay?"

"Okay."

-

"Li? Are you alive?" a gentle voice shook him away from his thoughts and he nodded rapidly, clearing his head.

"You looked pretty out of it," Niall fucking giggled and Liam was a goner. 

Maybe he was in love with him. Who was he kidding, really, who wouldn't be in love with Niall? He was adorable and indeed very lovable. He had no idea how he had managed to so passionately dislike the guy before.

Liam liked to think that Niall was his own personal sunshine. He was just so.. positive and cheery and bubbly and Liam loved him for that. Cheesy, yes. Did he care? Not really.

"I was just.. thinking," Liam smiled, throwing a piece of popcorn in his mouth, catching it gracefully.

Oh how very fanfic-y of him.

"About what?" the blonde curiously asks, climbing on the bed next to Liam, placing his head on the guys lap.

Niall looked so adorable and if they did more of those terribly romantic interactions like this, Liam would surely be dead soon.

"You," 

"Me? What about me?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"Me, you, us, you know.. What, exactly are.. we?" Liam said, cautiously. You could tell that he was nervous by the amount of pauses between his sentences and the faint blush decorating his cheeks, which Liam prayed Niall didn't notice.

Niall was silent for a while. He had thought of it numerous times before, now he tried to form an answer that would not freak Liam out. Niall never thought that he was gay or something like that but with Liam things were different.

He was.. endearing, really. Niall was absoulutely in love with his puppy-dog face and big brown eyes. He sounded so girly, but that's how it was and Niall didn't want to deny it to himself anymore.

He didn't have any lust or sexual desire towards him, no, but he was strangely interested in him. 

Not interested as if how are you doing and friendly stuff like that, but as in I want to go on dates with you and touch your bum kind of way.

"What do you want us to be?" Liam tried to help. The conversation had taken a turn on the awkward side and it didn't look like it was going to change any time soon.

Niall didn't say anything.

What did he want them to be? Surely, more than friends but shouldn't boyfriends also have sex? He didn't really want sex or anything like that but if Liam would, he'd probably do it. He'd do anything for the boy. But surely, they had time to think about it 'til the time actually comes.

"I want you to be my boyfriend. Not like, sex kinda boyfriend, if that's okay with you but, boyfriend. We obivously can do it of you want to, but-"

He couldn't finish his sentence as Liam kissed him, shutting him up and also sealing the deal between the two.


End file.
